Electric can opener



Sept. 19, 1961 E. E. MORAN 3,000,095

ELECTRIC CAN OPENER Filed May 9, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l 25 I9 2| l7 1 4. lil, i 25 o I r 32 4:58 34 o :59 I f Tl-1;:- 3| i v ss ,42 I6 64 f W57 18 l 55 I 52 I4 I i j 43 4s 45 47 38 53 1 4| 45' V a 44 48 I5 2:1 40 36- 49 H I H 50 5I I' IG.|.

INVENTOR. EDWARD E. MORAN BY WZPMW ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1961 E. E. MORAN 3,0

ELECTRIC CAN OPENER Filed May 9, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

v V EDWARD E. MORAN A TTORNEYS United States Patent 6 3,000,095 ELECTRIC CAN OPENER Edward E. Moran, General Delivery, Casmnlia, Calif. Filed May 9, 1960, Ser. No. 27,636 Claims. (Cl. 30-4) This invention relates generally to can openers and more particularly to an improved electrically operated can opener which is. substantially completely automatic inoperation.

Electric can openers have been proposed heretofore. Generally, however, these prior art devices are. relatively expensive to manufacture, relatively complicated in structure, and usually require some manual operations. to he. performed in order to effect a cutting operation. In addition, only certain sized cans can be. effectively opened in an automatic manner and thus theusesof such devices have been limited.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention toprovide a greatly improved electrical can opener which is substantially completely automatic in operation in that the only manual. operations necessary are that of inserting the, can.

More particularly, it is an. object to provide anelectric can opener of the foregoing type which can be readily adapted to open relatively large cans, for example,.up to one gallon capacity.

More general, objects of the. invention are toprovidean electric can opener whichv is mechanically ruggedv and simple in construction, and. which, is adaptable to compact construction whereby a neat appearance is, presented. if the. can opener is exposed. On. the other hand, the compact feature simplifies storing. of the can opener in an enclosed cabinet or the like.

These and many other objects and advantages. of this invention are attained by providing a basic can receiving structure together with the conventional cutting disc and driving gear for sandwiching the upper lip of the can. upon starting of the device. In accordance with the important features of the invention, there is provided a first power gear for driving an eccentric means. to raise. and lower the cutting disc and a second power gear forrotatingthe driving gear. These two power gears in'turn are arranged to be actuated by a sector geart structnre includingfirst sector gear teeth for operating. the firstpower; gear only during small time periods of the complete cycle. and second sector gear teeth of relatively large extent for operating the second power gear for a. period of time sufficient to open the can. The sector gear structure is arranged to be rotated by a drive motor.

Cooperating with the foregoing elements is a simplified electrical circuit including a single pole push button switch positioned to be operatedby the. can itself upon insertion of the can in the. structure preparatory to open.- ing of the same. Also includedin the circuit are. means for automatically shutting off the, motor after, the can has been opened.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, asecond or additional sector gear structure, is provided with more teeth than the first mentioned: structure. A suitable gear shifting mechanism thus enables the first and second power gears'to be re-positioned" for operation by the additional sector gear structure thereby enabling larger" cans to be opened during a single cycle of operation of the device.

A better understanding of these as- Well as'further features of the invention will be had by'nowreferring to an illustrative embodiment thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic perspective viewillusice 2. trating the various components making up the improved electric can opener;v

FIGUREv 2 is a fragmentary front. elevational View of certain of the sector gear structures taken in. the direction of the arrows 2-4. of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective View of a. kitchen. sink installation illustrative of one manner in which; the electricv can opener of this invention may be. stored and. made readily available. for instant use; and,

FIGURE 4 is a front elevationalview of. the can. opener: showing additional features.

Referring first to FIGURE 1,, there is shown a struc ture 10 supporting a first platform 11 hinged to theedge of the structure as. at 12. The structure 10 also supports an additional platform. 13 disposed. at. a. lower level than the platform 11. The platform 11 is designed to support conventional cans such. as illustrated at 1.4. On the other hand, if larger cans up to a one gallon capacity are to be opened, the platform 11. may be swung about the hinge 12 to an out-of-the-way lower position, and the platform 13 employed to support the larger cans.

As shown, there is provided areceiving structure in the shape of a yoke 15 for. receiving the can 14. Aconventional driving gear means 16 and piercing and cutting disc 17 are arrangedto sandwich the upper lip 18 of. the can 14. The piercing and cutting disc 17 is raised and lowered to release or lock the can. asthe case. may be by means of: an eccentricstructure 19. When the piercing and cutting disc 17 is in its lower position as shown in the drawing, bevel gear 20, coaxially secured for ro.

cation with the driving gear means 16, meshes with bevel v gear 21 to cause rotation of the cutting disc 17. There.- fore, upon rotation of the driving. gear means 16, the bevel gear 20- 'will be rotated to also rotate the bevel gear 21 and the cutting. disc 17 all in a conventional manner.

The structure may also include a magnet 22 supported on an arm 23 in turn anchored as at 24.

The eccentric means inv the form of a wheel 19' is arranged to be rotated by a splined shaft 25 terminating at the left-hand portion of the drawingv in a first power gear 26. Power gear 26 is positioned for cooperation with a separate gear structure 27 including first sector gears 28 and 29. The. sector gear 28 constitutes a lowering sector gear since its engagement with the first power gear 26 will result in lowering of the cutting disc 17 eccentrically mounted to the eccentric structure 19. The substantially diametrically oppositely disposed sector gear 29 on the other hand will effect araising of the. cutting disc 17 through the medium of the. eccentric wheel 19-.

Similarly, the driving gear 16 and bevel gear 20 are secured to a splined shaft 30 terminating at the lefthand portion of the drawing in a second power gear 31 shown in. engagement with second sector gear teeth 32 mounted on the same structure 27 as the first sector gears 28; and 29 but axially offset therefrom as shown.

The sector gear structure 27 is mounted for. rotation by a main driving gear wheel 33 connected through, bevel gear 34 driven by a drive motor 35. A worm type of drive may be substituted for the bevel gear drive 34.

The drive motor 35 is-arranged to be electrically energized. and de-energized by a singlev pole switch structure 36 connected between a. power lead 37 and'input lead-38 to the motor. 35. The other lead to the motor 35,.indicated at 39 is grounded; The switch structure 3'6'incl'udes a micro-switch. operated by a central push button 40 which is. biased outwardly and arranged to throw the switch whenever pressure is exerted thereon in any direction, The action is such that a small inward movement ofthe button will operate the switch, successive pushing ofthe button, alternately turning the switch on and 0th I In the schematic showing of FIGURE 1, there'are illustrated first and second push rods 41 and 42 for operating the push button 40. Push rods 41 and 42 are secured for forward movement to a gear shift arm 43 pivoted between the point of securement of the push rods by the pivot shaft 44. It will be noted that when the gear shift arm 43 is pivoted about the pivot 44 to the dotted line position, the second push rod 42 of the gear shift arm will operate the button 40 and when the gear shift arm 43 is moved to its solid line position, the first push rod 41 engages the button.

' Actuation of the gear shift arm '43 to the solid line position shown is effected through a connecting rod 45 pivoted to the gear shift arm 43 as at 46 at one end and terrninating in a button structure 47 at the central portion of the receiving yoke 15 at its other end. With this arrangement, insertion of the can 14 into the receiving yoke structure 15 will depress the button structure 47 to move the connecting rod 45 to the left and thus cause the gear shift arm 43 to assume its solid line position. The yoke 15 is preferably pivoted to the rod 45 as at 45', the purpose for which will be clearer as the description proceeds. A second or additional connecting rod 48 is pivoted at one end 49 to the lower end of the gear shift arm 43. The other end of this connecting rod 48 terminates in an additional button 50 passing through an additional enlarged receiving yoke structure 51 for larger type cans. When the button 50 is depressed upon insertion of one of the larger cans, the gear shift arm 43 will be swung in a clockwise direction about the pivot shaft 44 to the dotted line position.

The push button 40 is also arranged to be operated by a push rod 52 guided for vertical movement by lower and upper guide structures 53 and 54 respectively. A por' tion of the push rod 52 is provided with a small stop flange 55 immediately below the guide 54 to limit upward movement thereof. Above the guide 54 the rod 52 is provided with a second flange 56 serving as an end support for a spring 57 position between the flange 56 and guide 54. The spring 57 thus biases the push rod 52 to its uppermost position in which the lower flange 55 engages the lower end of the guide 54. Downward movement of the rod 52 will result in its extreme lower end engaging the button 40 to operate the switch.

The extreme upper end of the rod 52 terminates in a tip 58 arranged to be engaged by a trigger structure 59 secured to the sector gear structure 27 on its front face. When the sector gear structure 27 rotates, the trigger 59 will engage the upper end 58 of the push rod thereby mov ing the same downward until the trigger 59 passes the push rod. Since it is only desirable to operate the switch when the sector gear structure 27 is in a given position as determined by the position of the trigger 59 and engaging end 58 of the push button rod, these same elements could be operated from the driving gear wheel 33 if desired.

Also included as part of the structure of the can opener of this invention is an additional sector gear structure 60 of substantially the same diameter as the sector gear 27. This additional structure 60 includes additional first sector gears 61 and 62 and an additional second sector gear 63. The arrangement is such that when the gear shift arm 43 is moved from its solid to dotted line position,.the upper end thereof swings a gear shift yoke structure 64 from the left to the right to slide the first and second power gears '26 and 31 along the splined shafts 25 and 30 to the dotted line position so that they will then be engaged respectively by the sector gears 61 and 62 and the sector gear 63. It be noted that the sector gear 63 has many more teeth than the sector gear 32 for the sector gear structure 27.

With reference now to both FIGURES 1 and 2, the operation of the can opener of this invention will be described. Initially, the sector gear structure 27 is in a position in which the first sector gear 28 is below the first power gear 26 as viewed in FIGURE 1. This position is depicted at 28 in dotted lines in FIGURE 2. When the can 14 is inserted in the receiving yoke the button 47 is depressed to move the connecting rod 45 all the way to the left to the solid line position illustrated. The push rod 41 is thus caused to press the button 40 sufficiently to throw the microswitch, 'the rod "41 retracting slightly as a consequence'of'theoutward bias exerted by the button so that the next time the button is pressed, the motor will be turned off. The drive motor 35 is turned on by power passing through the lead 37, switchbox 36, and input lead 38, to the motor and ground at 3%. V

' When the motor 35 is energized, the driving gear wheel 33 will be rotated through the action of the bevel gear 34 and for illustrative purposes, it is assumed that direction of rotation is clockwise as viewed in FIGURES 1 and 2 and as indicated by the arrows.

This movement of the driving wheel 33 will rotate the first sector gear 28 from its position immediately below the first power gear 26 up past the power gear to the position shown in FIGURE 1. It will then disengage the power gear 26. Sector gear 28 has exactly half the number' of teeth as power gear 26. Therefore, the power gear 26 has been caused to rotate through a half a turn to rotate the eccentric cam wheel 19 through a half turn and thus lower the piercing and cutting disc 17 to the solid line position shown in FIGURE 1. The top 18 of the can will thus be pierced and engaged between the driving gear 16 and cutting disc 17. 7

Continued rotation of the first sector gear structure 27 will result in the second sector gear 31 to rotate the driving gear 16 and efiect cutting of the top of the can. The extent of the sector gear teeth 32 is sufiicient to effect a cutting of the complete circumference of the top of the can. However, the can will be held between the driving gear 16 and cutting disc 17 until the sector gear structure 27 has effected substantially one-half a revolution. At this point, the raising sector gear 29 shown in FIGURE 1 will be in a position to engage the first power gear 26 and thus raise the cutting disc 17. The can will then drop onto the platform 11 completely automatically. The magnet 22 will hold the cut cover. The sector gear 27 will continue to rotate without any specific cutting action taking place until the trigger 59 engages the top of the push rod 58. This engagement will result in lowering of the push rod to engage the switch 40 and thus turn off the motor 35.

The relative positions of the various components are then as described initially and the opener is ready for reception of another can.

In the event a large can, for example of one gallon capacity, is to be opened, the platform 11 may be swung to an out-of-the-way position as described heretofore and the largercan placed on the lower platform 13. The yoke l5 may be swung out of the way about the pivot 45'. Engagement of the button 50 will then result in the gear shift arm 43 swinging in a clockwise direction about the pivot 44 to the dotted line position to move the first and second power gears 26 and 31 to their dotted line positions adjacent the additional gear structure 60. This movement of the gear shift arm 43 will also, as described heretofore, result in operation of the push button 40 through the medium of the second push rod 42. The motor will then start again, and the additional first sector gear 61 will cause a partial rotation of the first power gear 26 which is now in the dotted line position to lower the cutting disc 17 onto the top of the can. The additional second sector teeth 63 in turn will cause rotation of the second power gear 31 which is now in the dotted line position to effect rotation of the can and the desired cutting action necessary to open the can. The greater extent of the teeth 63 on the additional second sector gear insures that a complete rotation of the larger can will take place so that the top will be completely severed.

When the additional sector gear 62 engages the first power gear 26, will then raise the cutting disc 17 and at approximately this same time, the trigger 59 will be engaging the end 58 of the push rod 52 to operate the push button 48 and to tie-energize the motor so that it will come to a complete stop with the first power gear 26 positioned between the sector gears 61 and 62 preparatory to a subsequent operation.

When the cutting disc 17 is raised, the larger can will drop onto the platform 13 and the magnet 22 will hold the severed cover.

From the foregoing, it will thus be seen that the can opening operation is entirely automatic. Moreover, the shifting of the gears to accommodate the particular sized can involved is also automatic.

FIGURE 3 illustrates a typical sink and cabinet combination structure at 65. As shown, there may be provided a small compartment 66 for housing the complete can opener of this invention. However, in lieu of the platforms 11 and 13 of FIGURE 1, the door to the cab inlet indicated at 67 may serve also as a platform.

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of an actual embodiment of the can opener wherein there are disclosed on the front face 68 a plurality of platforms 69 and 70. In the case of very thin cans such as sardine cans, the uppermost platform 69 will serve as a support for the can. Thus, the minimum thickness dimension of the can that can be accommodated when a shelf is used is indicated by the letter d. If only larger cans are to be opened, the temporary platforms 69 may be pushed in and the platforms 7 employed.

In FIGURE 4, the cutting disc and driving gear constituting the counterparts to these structures shown in FIGURE 1 are designated by the same numerals followed by a prime. The yoke structure and operating buttons are similarly designated. In the actual embodiment, the structure is far more compact than depicted in the schematic view of FIGURE 1. This compactness will be evident from the front elevational view of FIGURE 4. Accordingly, it should be understood with reference to the schematic illustration of FIGURE 1 that the drawing itself is not to scale but rather the structure has been exploded and certain motions of the gears greatly exaggerated merely for purposes of clarity in the description. In an actual embodiment, for example, the push button switch 40 might be disposed immediately under the sector gear structure 27 for direct actuation by the trigger 59 thus eliminating push rod 52 and its auxiliary parts. In this event, the other component parts would be moved up closely under the gear clusters.

Further, it should be understood that all of the various gear sector structures could be on a common body as a cluster gear. The showing of two sector gear body structures, such as at 27 and 60 in FIGURE 1, is set forth merely to enable more portions of the working components to be visible in the drawing and simplify the description. A cluster gear structure can be hand dipped thus effecting great economy in manufacture. Moreover, it is possible to have the cutting disc stationary and the driving gear moved upwardly to effect sandwiching of the can lip.

Thus, while only one particular structure has been completely described for illustrative purposes, it will be evident that many of the components can be replaced by equivalent members which will perform substantially the same function. The improved electric can opener is therefore not to be thought of as limited to the particular embodiment set forth for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

1. An electric can opener comprising, in combination: cutting means for opening said can; a drive motor; gear means coupling said drive motor to said cutting means for operation thereby; switch means for energizing said drive motor; a can receiving structure including means responsive to the insertion of a can for actuating said switch means to energize said drive motor; means responsive to a given position of said gear means for actuating said switch means to deenergize said motor after said can has been opened, said gear means including two rows of sector gear teeth of different arcuate extent; a power gear coupled to said cutting means; and gear shift means for moving said power gear from a first position in engagement with one of said rows of sector gear teeth to a second position in engagement with the other of said rows of sector gear teeth whereby said cutting means is operable for different durations for opening cans of different diameters.

2. An electric can opener comprising, in combination: structure for receiving said can; driving gear means rotatably mounted on said structure for engaging the underside of the top lip of said can to rotate said can; piercing and cutting means mounted on said structure for downward rocking movement to a position adjacent said driving gear means; a drive motor; sector gear means including first sector gears connected for rotation to said drive motor; a first power gear positioned for rotation by said first sector gears and connected to said piercing and cutting means for effecting rocking movement of said piercing and cutting means; a second sector gear connected to said drive motor; a second power gear positioned for rotation by said second sector gear and connected to said driving gear means for rotating said can; motor starting switch means responsive to insertion of said can in said structure; and control switch means responsive to the position of said sector gear means for automatically terminating operation of said motor after said can has been opened.

3. The subject matter of claim 2, including additional sector gear means including first sector gears and a second sector gear of greater arcuate extent than said first mentioned second sector gear mounted to said structure; and gear shift means for repositioning said first power gear and said second power gear for engagement by said additional sector gear means to actuate said piercing and cutting means and said driving gear means respectively, whereby larger cans may be opened during a single cycle of operation.

4. The subject matter of claim 3 in which said gear shift means includes connecting rods terminating at said structure for receiving said can whereby positioning of said can in said structure operates said gear shifting means.

5. The subject matter of claim 4, in which said control switch means includes a trigger means positioned for rotation with said sector gear means for actuation of said motor starting switch means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,484,504 Hanby Oct. 11, 1949 2,755,547 Hanby July 24, 1956 2,791,828 Hatchett May 14, 1957 2,896,319 Pinette July 28, 1959 2,897,590 Meadows Aug. 4, 1959 

